Jagan’s vulnerability is the persisting cases of amassing disproportionate wealth and the notoriety with which Modi dispensation uses the Central agencies for a political project

It is in this context that Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s 40-minute meeting with Modi on 6 October has fuelled speculations over the prospects of Reddy’s Yuvajana Sramika Rytu Congress (YSRC), with 22 MPs in the Lok Sabha and six in the Rajya Sabha, joining the NDA. Modi and Reddy, with the overwhelming mandate they secured in the 2019 elections, are sitting pretty in Delhi and in Andhra Pradesh respectively, without any instability in their governments. Yet, the two leaders have seemingly gravitated to each other for a variety of reasons. The BJP is desperate to refurbish its image as a party that can attract allies.

Jagan’s vulnerability is the persisting cases of amassing disproportionate wealth and the notoriety with which Modi dispensation uses the Central agencies for a political project. Obviously, he needs Centre’s co-operation to get a breather from cases and also fix his rival, Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party. He recently launched a diatribe against Supreme Court judge N.V. Ramana, next in line to become Chief Justice, alleging impropriety by the latter. A bench headed by the judge is hearing a petition seeking fast-tracking of pending criminal cases against sitting and former legislators, including Jagan.

Jagan continues to be more loyal to the NDA than its partners, supporting almost all the bills from outside. They include bills with adverse bearing on the Muslim minorities (which form his party’s core voter segment), such as the Citizenship Amendment Bill, abrogation of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu & Kashmir and criminalisation of triple talaq.

Besides, his party also backed the Electricity Amendment Bill 2020, regardless of the fact that it could have a debilitating impact on the promise of free power for agriculture made by his father, the late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy. Members of the YSR Congress, representing a state that is the largest producer of food grains next to Punjab and Haryana, even supported the farm bills, unmindful of their adverse implications over the procurement process.

Reddy’s party has six MPs in the Upper House and the numbers is expected to go up to 10 in the next two years. Thus, BJP needs Jagan as much as Jagan needs it.